2. Anti-Semitism

Relations between Jews and Gentiles in Holland

Flora Bader, who grew up during the 1920s in a prosperous Dutch family, recalls no prejudice

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Interviewer: Now you did talk to me about the close relationship, or good relationship, between Jews and non-Jews.

"A beautiful relationship."

Interviewer: But was there absolutely no anti-Semitism?

"As far as I'm... Of course there was anti-Semitism. There must have been.

There is not a country in the world... Where you have human beings you have human frailties.

And [even] among the Jews in Israel I encountered hatred for each other, not only love. We kid each other if we tell that to each other. We are next to reality.

However, I personally have never encountered anti-Semitism. Nor did my parents. And we employed a great deal of people in business.

We also had with our Jewish girl always a cleaning woman or a girl from Germany who would do the hard work. And those girls happened to be not Jewish. I have never ever heard any form or expression of anti-Semitism as long as I was a child.

Interviewer: And in school, not either?

"Oh, never, never. They had high regard and high respect. We were not mentioned as a form or a class or a religion that was on the outside looking in.

It was very insulting and strange for me when I came here that I heard 'black' and 'Jews.' I thought, 'What an insult!'

This was not done. You never mentioned a person's religion.

Here, you never ask what a person has in the bank. There it is the same thing if anybody would approach you and ask, 'What religion are you?' That is so personal. People didn't discuss that with each other."